Learning to Linger

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

I’m tempted to rush.

On a rare day when I have this time, the temptation is there to fill it right up with more activity, more going and more doing.

Most days, I don’t have this luxury, of course. It’s the mad morning scramble of toothbrushes, hair brushes, ribbons, bows, socks, shoes, lunches and backpacks to send children out to the bus stop.

Then, zoom into the day with the baby and the errands or meetings or Bible studies or appointments or whatever busyness has etched itself onto the schedule.

But this day. This one day.

After I watch my girls step onto that school bus, I return to my home and breathe in and out this uncertain freedom. I don’t have to run out the door. I don’t have to meet an external agenda or deadline until the afternoon.

So what to do?

Rush through my home, stuffing laundry into the washing machine and another load in the dryer? Frantically move cereal bowls from sink to dishwasher and then grab the broom (maybe the mop if I’m inspired). Respond to messages. Catch up on the to-do list. Fill out the forms.

So it goes, me filling up this one little space of time with too much, cramming in activity and sitting on the lid in hopes it will fit.

My tea, poured hot this morning turns cold.

My morning devotions, rushed through just to be done, leave me unfilled, uninspired, unopened to what God wants to say.

Too busy…too busy…just always too busy.

But today I consider Joshua.

Moses met with God face-to-face in a tent. A pillar of cloud covered the entrance while the Israelites looked on from the flaps of their own tent dwellings, bowing in worship in the doorways.

When Moses finished talking with God, he returned to the camp to share the message with others.

Not Joshua, though.

“his assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent” (Exodus 33:11 HCSB).

He wouldn’t budge from the glory and the presence, lingering there stubbornly while others moved along.

What if I chose to linger here….chose to be Joshua refusing to leave the tent as long as God’s glory electrified the air….chose for this one day to be Mary at the feet of Jesus rather than Martha slamming pots in the kitchen?

Because serving perpetually means serving empty and that means dying of spiritual starvation and dehydration.

We need the Mary moments so we can re-enter the kitchen as Martha and care for others cheerfully and ably until we have that opportunity once again to lay down the dish towel and sit at Jesus’ feet.

It’s not practical, of course.

That crowd of more than 5000 who sat on the hillside listening to Jesus hour upon hour should have been watching the clock. They should have known what time it was and how long they had to travel back for food. They should have abandoned the sermon and packed up their blankets and lawn chairs at a reasonable time so they could eat dinner at a reasonable hour.

Yet, Jesus rewarded their time in His presence.

Had they left early, they would have missed the miracle.

In order to witness God’s glory, they had to wait, they had to sit patiently and linger there until they received.

This is what I consider as I spend this month Sabbath-Keeping during my year-long pursuit of the presence of Christ.

In Living Beyond Yourself , Beth Moore writes:

“He placed them in a posture to rest in His provision. He commanded them to “sit down” and fed only those who were “seated” (vv. 10-11) . . .”Are you ‘sitting down’ in a posture of trust and sitting quietly to receive it? If so, prepare the baskets!”

For me, it’s just this one day a week to take my morning slow before the afternoon and evening wave of stress and busyness crashes down again.

For you, it may be a morning, a day….even a season of sitting and waiting on that hillside so you can see His glory, or a season at Jesus’ feet instead of in the kitchen, or a season of lingering in the tent.

Whatever the length of the wait and the stillness, it’s a discipline to rest rather than rush.

When we remain there, though, insistent on lingering where His presence is, we see His glory displayed and He fills us up with the sustenance of His presence and His Word.

But only when we wait until He says it’s time to move on.

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Practice Sabbath-Keeping’?

Heather King is a wife, mom, Bible Study teacher, writer and worship leader. Most importantly, she is a Christ follower with a desire to help others apply the Bible to everyday life with all its mess, noise, and busyness. Her book, Ask Me Anything, Lord: Opening Our Hearts to God’s Questions, is available now! To read more devotionals by Heather King, click here.

25 Ways to Create Rest

November 17, 20142 Comments

Thanks to all who entered the Big Giveaway! It was so fun hearing all about what you wanted to be when you grew up. Some of you were far more creative than I ever was! And what a testimony of how God redirected some of us, transformed some of us, and used our desires and giftings for His glory.

I am so thankful for all of your support and encouragement in this first year since my book, Ask Me Anything, Lord was published.

Here are the winners!

One first-prize winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is: Kimberly!!!

Three runner-up prizes of an autographed copy of Ask Me Anything, Lord go to:

Betsy Marmon
Genia Allen
CoreynEva

If you didn’t win, I have to at least give a quick, shameless plug: You can still buy a copy of Ask Me Anything, Lord here. Don’t forget: Christmas is coming! I’m knee-deep into my own Christmas shopping list, so if you’re looking for a gift you can always buy a copy of the book for you and another to give to a friend!

You bless me so, dear friends and followers!

~heather~

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25 Ways to Create Rest

My husband teases me about never watching TV or movies. “You don’t watch; you just listen,” he says.

Photo courtesy of Viktor Janacek, picjumbo

It’s true. I like to listen to the dialogue while doing chores and working on projects.

I feel restless just sitting still without something for my hands to do.

I read the verses, how Scripture tells me to rest, and all this time I thought I just failed at this.

Could this be sin? Am I a hopeless case of incessant busyness? A certifiable Martha who can’t possibly be Mary at the feet of Jesus?

And, after all, I’m a mom with four young kids. Doing nothing sounds unreasonable and downright impossible.

So, when I think about Sabbath and rest, I feel guilty.

But I’m finding freedom here as I spend this month Sabbath-keeping:

In Priscilla Shirer’s book: Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath, I read this quote from Abraham Joshua Heschel, a rabbi and author:

“The words: ‘On the seventh day God finished His work’ (Genesis 2:2) seem to be a puzzle…We would surely expect the Bible to tell us that on the sixth day God finished His work. Obviously, the ancient rabbis concluded, there was an act of creation on the seventh day. Just as heaven and earth were created in six days, menulza (rest) was created on the Sabbath…..they believed that it took a special act of creation to bring it into being, that the universe would be incomplete without it. ‘What was created on the seventh day? Tranquility, serenity, peace and repose.“

God didn’t do nothing on the seventh day. He created Rest, and the universe wasn’t complete until He did.

So, Sabbath isn’t about sitting still or napping or doing nothing.

It’s about creating peace and repose. It’s about creating rest for your soul, whatever that looks like.

In her book Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God, Margaret Feinberg writes:

“rest isn’t a purely passive activity. Rest invites us to participate in restorative activities….Sometimes what’s most restful and restorative to you might involve activity…Sometimes what feels like rest to you may feel like work to someone else (and vice versa)…

Some people experience rest and rejuvenation through physical exercise, others prefer a creative outlet like painting, sculpting or finding a project on Pinterest. Still others experience rest through spending time at the rifle range, reading an entertaining book, working on a car, enjoying a comedy, or cooking a new recipe” (p. 72).

So, the question I’ve been asking myself is: What kind of Sabbath am I creating?

Here are 25 practical ways to choose rest for your soul:

Put off the big chores like laundry, vacuuming and mopping until another day.
Spend time as a family playing board games or have a movie night with popcorn and hot chocolate.
Go for a picnic in the park with your kids.
Lie on the couch and read a book.
Take a nap.
Create something beautiful–knit, sew, paint. Make sure it’s something you enjoy but never seem to have time for and not just another project you need to get done on the to-do list (like hem pants or something).
Bake something delicious. Maybe use a favorite recipe or be daring and give a new recipe a try!
Light a candle or plug in your warmer and make sure your house smells amazing.
Play music to soothe the soul. Maybe some worship music. Maybe something classical so you don’t even have to think about the lyrics, just enjoy the beauty.
Dig deep in the dirt and enjoy your garden.
Sit on the porch with a glass of lemonade or iced tea or maybe a hot cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the breeze while the kids play outside.
Light a fire in the fireplace.
Use paper plates just for today so you don’t have to do a million dishes.
Keep dinner simple. Order pizza, eat leftovers or maybe go for a Crock-Pot meal or breakfast for dinner (is that officially called ‘Brinner?”.
Or—-if you love to cook, make a big family dinner and enjoy the time together in the kitchen and around the table.
Spend extra time in God’s Word today.
Take a day off from social media and email, or perhaps at least stay offline from sun-up to sun-down.
Don’t answer the phone unless you have to/want to.
Take a walk.
Do a puzzle as a family.
Prepare for your day off in advance: Make sure the laundry is done, the kids’ homework is done and their agendas for school are signed, so you aren’t tempted to dig deep into a project or chore.
Meet a friend for lunch.
Write a letter. Like, an actual letter. With pen and paper, not typed out via e-mail.
Journal.
Treat yourself. If you exercise all week, keep away from caffeine, soda, sweets, and chocolate….or however you discipline yourself…enjoy a little treat today. A cinnamon roll for breakfast perhaps? Your favorite chocolate after lunch?

What kind of Sabbath are you creating?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Practice Sabbath-Keeping’?

If I sit down for 15 minutes, will there be a cosmic meltdown?

November 7, 2014November 6, 2014Leave a comment

I made a Mom-speech in the minivan to my kids as we headed home long past bedtime the other night:

These two weeks are going to be crazy busy. You will be tired. And that means you’ll probably be grumpy. When we get this tired, the ugly comes out. So, for the next two weeks we have to show each other extra grace and patience and we need to rest whenever we can….

As soon as my speech ended, they continued bickering over prime-seating in the minivan and when we got home, they fought over prime seating during nighttime prayers and who knows what else.

I made the speech again.

I do this for my kids: I prepare their hearts and minds for busy seasons. I remind them about grace.

I ease the burden some, removing some expectations, allowing them to slack off in some areas so they can focus on what’s important right now.

I give them this breathing room.

But I don’t often do it for myself.

In my 12-month pursuit of the presence of Christ, I’ve reached November—the month when I’ll study and focus on the Sabbath.

And interestingly enough, I’m entrenched in two of the busiest weeks I’ve had since school ended last year.

Isn’t God funny that way?

I’m slowly reading Priscilla Shirer’s study: Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath and she teaches me about building Sabbath Margin into my life. How to leave space for God to work. How busyness can crowd out His will.

How there’s only so much time and if I’ve packed in the activity too tightly, I’ll run out of room to breathe.

But rest takes great effort for me.

It’s a spiritual discipline that I struggle with. I’m better at keeping up with my yearly Bible reading plan and juggling multiple Bible studies and devotionals, memorizing Scripture, praying, and journaling than I am about obeying this Biblical command: Rest.

I’m physically incapable of napping. Instead of sleeping, I lie awake thinking about all the things I should be doing instead of sleeping. By the time I finally give up and throw back the covers in defeat, I’m frantic about the wasted time and move faster through my to-do list to make up for it.

I feel guilty for leisure, embarrassed by free time, and apologetic for fun.

Taking a break feels like laziness.

There’s something else at work here beyond just an addiction to adrenaline. Oh, how I hate for it to be true, and yet digging down deeply enough reveals its ugly presence—-pride. Truly, it feels good to be needed. It feels important to be so busy.

When I run around in a breathless pace, doing, doing, doing all the time, I act as if the world depends on me to function, as if me sitting down for 15 minutes would create cosmic meltdown.

And that’s why God, from the very first week of creation, instituted a Sabbath rest. It wasn’t for His benefit, as if the Almighty God who created a sun, moon, and planet with the power of His words grew weary and needed to sleep.

No, the Sabbath was not for God. Instead, Jesus “said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27).

The Sabbath is for us.

It’s a reminder that the universe can exist without our involvement and labor. It’s a re-ordering of our perspective, so that we remember it is God who is essential and not us.

So often, we forget that our jobs, our families, our ministries, our relationships, our everything depend not on our ability, but on God’s power.

We stress about meetings because we think everything relies on how well we present ourselves. We plot out conversations because we think the outcome depends on the words we choose. We think. We plan. We do. We fix. We busy ourselves. We worry. We analyze. We lose sleep.

God knows the pride that burrows itself into our hearts; the tentacles it wraps around us as we seek fulfillment in accomplishments, in tasks completed, in people depending on us.

Sabbath isn’t about Pharisaical hypocrisy and legalism. It’s not about do’s and don’ts.

It’s about Rest.

And Rest is about humbly stepping aside.

It’s about the placing and continual re-placing of God in control of our lives.

So, I’m going to take some rest time. At least for next week, I’ll stay quiet on the blog….spending time reading, creating, being with God, being with my family, instead of writing and posting on my regular days.

I’ll be back the following week and I’ll announce the winners of the big giveaway, so keep entering!!

And I’ll hopefully remind my soul that it’s all about Him, always Him, never me.

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Practice Sabbath-Keeping’?

How peeling potatoes makes me feel like a domestic diva

October 29, 2014October 29, 20142 Comments

When precise circumstances align just right, I feel like a domestic diva.

The windows are open.

The house smells like it’s filled with flowers or pies—-maybe it’s because I baked; maybe it’s artificially provided by a candle or scented wax in my burner—it doesn’t matter, as long as the house doesn’t smell like diapers and the litter box.

The children are not fighting.

The washing machine and dryer are humming away.

Bread is in the bread machine.

Soup is in the Crock Pot.

I am peeling potatoes.

It’s the peeling potatoes part that really counts. That’s what makes ordinary household chores feel less like mundane drudgery and more like prize-worthy expertise. Like the angels are singing and the children should be rising up and calling you blessed and your husband sings your praises.

I’m telling you…..peeling potatoes can do that for me.

Which is funny, because they’re just ordinary potatoes and I’m just an ordinary gal and I’ve sure nicked myself enough times with the potato peeler.

The truth is there are plenty of days, when I feel less than capable, less than expert, less than extraordinary.

I collapse next to my husband in the evening after four little ones finally fall asleep and survey the mess left behind by the tornado of activity. I confess what’s on my heart—-“I hope you don’t think I just do nothing all day.”

He calms me down. After all, I don’t really need to say it to him. I’m really saying it to me.

Because it’s me wondering, “What exactly did I do all day?”

Photo by just2shutter; 123rf.com

I have a one-year-old:

Enough said?

Maybe I don’t always feel accomplished, but for some mysterious reason, peeling potatoes makes me find value in the most mundane act. I feel this wind of inspiration and encouragement. It’s like breath for my very suffocated soul.

What I really feel in that moment is that God finds value in me. He finds joy in the home I’m making for my family. He showers me with favor. He teaches me to sing praise over the ordinary.

In his book, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas tells me that Brother Lawrence “felt equally close to God peeling potatoes in the kitchen as kneeling at the altar in prayer…”

Maybe that’s because potato peeling became the sacrifice on his altar.

Maybe it’s because he prayed while he peeled.

Maybe I can do both.

I remember one of the Scriptures I’ve been clinging to all year:

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually” (1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV)

And I read in Romans:

Clothe yourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14 NLT).

Put on the presence of Christ with each new day. Rise in the morning, take a shower, put on jeans and a t-shirt and put on the presence of Christ at the same time.

So, I’m trying my best to invite Christ’s presence into my routine and the ordinary of my every day. Invite Him in as I cook dinner. Invite Him in as I throw open windows and light the candle. Invite Him in as I get dressed in the morning.

Because His presence is constant. He’s always there. It’s my awareness of His presence that varies from day to day.

Just like I always have the same amount of domestic capabilities, but somehow peeling potatoes makes me feel particularly accomplished. Nothing changes except my perspective.

As I finish up this month of Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, I’m choosing prayer prompts to help me connect with God throughout the day.

These aren’t hour-long prayer sessions spent on my knees. These are whispered prayers I share with God while I go about my day.

Like:

“Give me wisdom for this day” before I get out of bed.

“Clothe me with Your presence today” as I get dressed.

“Show me how to love my family best” as I pack lunches.

“Thank You for Your provision” as I fold clothes.

“Feed me with Your Word” as I cook dinner.

“Forgive me of my sins” as I wash those dishes clean.

“Thank you for your many good gifts to me.” And when can I pray this? Well, anytime perhaps, but maybe especially when I peel potatoes.

What prompts you to pray throughout the day?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Find the Sacred in the Ordinary’?

7 Ways to have a quiet time when you don’t have quiet or time

October 27, 2014July 12, 20174 Comments

“You dropped your head.”

That’s what he tells me as we leave church. He points to a spot on the floor with this twinkle in his eye, just waiting for me to fall for the joke he’s played on me many times before.

He gets us all the time. “Your shoe is untied,” when you’re wearing ballet flats without laces. “You dropped your head” and people look to see if their head actually is rolling around on the floor, abandoned.

But I don’t even move my eyes. I just lean right over to him, pat him on the arm, and say, “You know what, I probably did. I probably did drop my head.”

Some days, you know?

Some days maybe you feel like you’ve been running around without any command center on top of your shoulders to help you hold it all together.

You feel a little famished, starving for time in the Word.

You feel a little parched, desperate for the Living Water of His presence.

You feel maybe like you really are missing that head of yours.

One missed quiet time turns into a week and then a month and more if we’re not careful. Sometimes we think if we can’t pray for a solid hour on our knees in a prayer closet, or if we can’t finish a whole Beth Moore lesson in one uninterrupted sitting, or we miss a day or two in our devotional or our Bible reading plan, then maybe we just need to wait until we can get it perfect.

If you can’t do it right, why do it at all?

Why? Because we’ll drop our heads, that’s why. We have to be women of the Word and women of prayer even if it means we need to adapt and adjust for the busiest seasons of life.

Maybe it means we just hold on for dear life to the hem of Jesus’ robe until life finally brings us to a place where we can sit uninterrupted at His feet again.

Sometimes faith has to be on-the-go…..and the good news is that God’s presence can invade the minivan.

Here are 7 ways to have a quiet time when you don’t have quiet or time:

1. Make a Bible To-Go Bag: Keep a bag in your car with anything you might need for an impromptu quiet time while you wait in the minivan to pick up your kids: a devotional you only use for those times, paper, pens, and an extra Bible or maybe just a Bible app on your smartphone.

2. Find Great Bible Apps: Load your phone with apps that will let you read the Bible, listen to the audio Bible, tune into podcasts, read devotionals, memorize Scripture, and keep a prayer log. I’ve listed my favorites below. Here are some of my favorites:

Bible (by LifeChurch.tv)
BibleGateway
BibleMinded
PrayerNotes
Scripture Typer

3. Use Prayer Prompts: Pray while cooking dinner, doing dishes, folding laundry, driving home from work. Pick specific places or activities that will remind you to pray every time you do them.

4. Break it up: I don’t have time to read a devotional, read the Bible, do a Bible study, write in my journal and pray all at once. I need to do these things all day long, a little here, a little there, grabbing time when I can. Try breaking up your quiet time into 10-minute activities you can spread throughout your day.

5. Do it with your kids: If your kids have memory verses for their church activities, memorize the verses with them. Read the book of Matthew together and choose a devotional to read as a family.

6. Exercise your faith: People often jog to their favorite work-out music or hop on the exercise bike and watch TV. Try replacing that with God-time. If you’re on the exercise bike, you can read your Bible or devotionals or listen to podcasts of sermons. If you’re walking or jogging, you can be listening to worship music, sermon podcasts, an audio Bible, or just praying.

7. Study online: I help to lead online Bible studies at The Womens Bible Cafe. I love that I can spend one hour in accountability, fellowship and encouragement and I can do it while my baby is napping in the next room. You can also check out online studies with Proverbs31 Ministries and Love God Greatly.

Most importantly, give yourself grace: If you expect the perfect quiet time to happen, then you’ll likely give up completely and never take time for God. And you’ll probably drop your head. Take every opportunity to spend time with Jesus even if it’s short, messy, interrupted, and on-the-go. If you fall behind, don’t get overwhelmed. Just start fresh where you are supposed to be and keep going. And when the day is done, rest well and start fresh with new mercies for a new day.

How do you make time for God when you don’t have quiet or time?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Find the Sacred in the Ordinary’?

Morning Prayers to Whisper in Between the Snooze Button (AKA Kids)

October 17, 2014January 9, 20163 Comments

I do not understand the snooze button on an alarm clock. I never have.

To me, sleep only works when you’re actually sleeping.

The first beep of an alarm wakes me up. From that moment on, my mind is racing on into the day. I’m not sleeping; I’m thinking.

Worse yet, I’m thinking without actually doing anything about the million-and-one things I’m thinking about, which is a pretty stressful way to start the day: feeling like I’m already behind.

Snooze buttons only work for people who can fall asleep in two seconds and don’t mind sleeping in batches of 5 minutes at a time.

Since that isn’t me, it’s just a way for me to procrastinate my way into the morning and procrastination super-stresses me out.

But moms don’t get to dictate their sleep habits, sleep cycle, sleep hours, sleep anything. We’re just thankful for whatever sleep we get.

I’ve only needed an actual alarm clock a handful of times since I gave birth to my oldest child nearly 10 years ago. I have a new alarm clock called “Kids.”

Unfortunately, this new wake-up system has come fully equipped with nothing less than a human snooze button.

Baby wakes up.

Mom soothes baby and climbs back into bed.

Early bird child runs through the house to mom’s bed just minutes later to announce she’s awake, then returns to announce she is hungry, then returns to announce she cannot find the clothes she wants.

Mom looks at the clock and realizes no one else in the whole house is awake and yet this one tiny person is relentless in her pursuit of the day.

Mom tries so hard to go back to sleep but is quickly awakened by the older daughter’s alarm clock with its shrill, rhythmic beeping that does….not…..stop……for…….five…..whole ……minutes…… because the daughter who is actually in the actual room with the actual alarm clock is sleeping right through the noise.

This is the human snooze button system that started my day.

I’ve heard so many women say that all we need to do to bring God into the middle of our day is to start with prayer, right from the beginning. Before you get out of bed, just lie there for a minutes longer and pray for God’s hand to be on the day and for Him to help them be the best mom and wife that she can be and could He direct her steps and … and.. and….

Awesome.

But my life is louder than that. Crazier than that. Messier than that.

And yet, I still need His presence. Maybe because of all the noise and rush, I need His presence even more desperately than someone who can lie in the quiet and calm of a morning and spend a few extra minutes in uninterrupted prayer.

I sure need Jesus to be right here in the middle of my mess.

My days tend to take turns for the unexpected. The long, extended quiet time that I’ve been planning for three days hasn’t happened yet, because the phone rang, and I got a message, and the baby was teething, and…and…and….

But I read what a missionary wrote in his journal long ago:

“Poor and weak though we are, our abode is a very Bethel to our souls, and God we feel and know is here” (Richard Williams).

Bethel. That means “House of God.”

It’s the place where God’s presence dwells. That’s where Jacob saw the vision of the stairway connecting heaven and earth and the angels ascending and descending.

I’m reminded, then, that God’s presence right here in the middle of my life makes any situation, any morning, any messy day, any short quiet time in the parked minivan while waiting for my daughters outside of school… a Bethel for my soul.

Because God is here.

I’m still fighting for that extended quiet time. I know it will happen.

But even on days it doesn’t, I’m learning this month to “Do Messy Faith….” to pursue His presence on-the-go instead of waiting until all the circumstances are perfect to meet with Him. Because if I wait for perfect, then it won’t happen.

So I don’t have an hour to spend in quiet with the Bible. I have the Bible on my phone and my Kindle.

So I don’t have the luxury of a quiet morning wake-up. I have a human snooze alarm and I can whisper those prayers in between morning visits from my children.

Dear God, thank You for this day.

Dear God, guide me today.

Dear God, Your will be done, not mine.

Dear God, Please use me today.

Dear God, Please help me. I can’t do it alone.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
Psalm 5:3 NKJV

What prayers do you whisper as you start your day?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Find the Sacred in the Ordinary’?

I Know a Good Question When I See One

October 15, 2014October 27, 20143 Comments

At the pumpkin patch, they handed us a paper with clues and a purple crayon for the scavenger hunt.

Follow the clues to places all over the farm and collect the letters. Unscramble the letters at the end and find the answer to this question:

What’s the name of the largest pumpkin we grow here on the farm?

Collecting the letters is the easy part. It’s the putting them back together in a way that makes sense that’s hard.

My husband finds the word “giant” in this mesh of letters. That sounds promising, but we’re still missing two words.

I ask the older man in overalls the question, like I’m just abnormally interested in the breeds of pumpkin.

So, you have lots of different kinds of pumpkins on this farm. What’s the biggest kind you grow?

He smiles and leans down from the tractor: “Oh yeah, lots of kinds. The big giant ones are in the barn.”

I surmise that this is the most information I’ll get out of him.

I move along.

My kids line their pumpkins up on the table so we can pay for them while I ask the lady in the apron about pumpkin varieties, all casual like it’s just a question that has popped into my head for no apparent reason.

Finally I just tell on myself. Here’s the deal. We’re trying to figure out this scavenger hunt word scramble and how in the world are we supposed to know the names of the seeds you use when you plant pumpkins? So can you help a girl out?

She laughs and says, “Whoa, that’s a hard clue. How are you supposed to know that?” Even she has to go and find someone else who knows the answer.

Dill’s Atlantic Giant

Gold stars to my husband for figuring out the “Giant” part.

He says I cheated and we could have figured that out.

There’s no way. Even the nice people at the farm assure me no one would know the answer unless you actually knew about pumpkin breeds—which I do not.

No way could I leave that pumpkin patch with a question hanging over my head like that, though. Cheating or not, I needed the answer, the solid truth to put that question right to rest.

Unanswered questions sit heavy on my soul.

I’d be Nicodemus slipping out into the night to find Jesus and pester him with questions because I just want to understand and make sense of it all. Born again? How does that work? Parables, stories, and metaphors are all fine and good, but, Jesus, I want to know. Can you lay it out all clear and step by step for a muddled, mixed-up girl like me?

I’m a Question-Girl who knows a good question when I see one.

So, I read it in Scripture, how the Israelites whined and complained their way through the wilderness outside of Egypt. They glorified the past. They questioned God.

In Exodus 17:17 it says,

Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

Dr. Tony Evans says:

“It’s easy for us to judge the Israelites as we read their accusatory question against God. But I imagine we’ve all asked that question at some point, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?” (The Power of God’s Names)

Is that what it all came down to with them? All of the complaining was really the perpetual search for an answer to the question that was rocking their souls: Are you here with us, God? Have you abandoned us? Are we on our own?

We know the theological, good-Christian answer.

But sometimes I still feel like a lost little girl on a big wide farm with a crayon in one hand and a paper with a mixed-up message on it.

Is the Lord among us or not?

And that’s when we cling on tight to the promise that He is Immanuel, God With Us. It’s the only name that fits in the blanks and that uses all the letters. The only name that can heal the cracks in my shaking foundation and soothe the ache of my wandering soul.

Life in the wilderness for Israel was messy and hard.

Life for us sure is messy and hard sometimes, too.

During my year-long pursuit of the presence of Christ, this month I’ll be ‘Doing Messy Faith.’

Quiet times aren’t always pristine. Prayer doesn’t follow a formula. Life is noisy, busy, rushed…messy indeed.

But God is With Us right there in the middle of it. Life won’t be perfect, but I don’t have to have all the answers to draw near in His presence.

Will you join me this month?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Do Messy Faith’?

Eat Cereal and Go to Disney?

October 10, 2014October 10, 2014Leave a comment

My daughter announced at the breakfast table that if we wanted to go to Disney World we all needed to eat a particular cereal.

“You want to go to Disney, right?”

She asked her five-year-old sister. Such an unfair question. Of course, the five-year-old nodded, ‘yes.’

“Then you need to eat this cereal, see?”

I peek over my shoulder to see what she found: a contest on the back of the cereal box. One grand prize winner. Yada yada yada.

Not exactly the reality she was trying to spin for her siblings: Eat this box of cereal = a free trip to Disney for the family.

But my children feel they have a deprived existence because:

(A) We do not own a dog.

(B) We have never been to Disney.

I promise her that I’ve entered plenty of Free Trip to Disney contests before yet I’ve still never been there. It’s because I never win anything.

(Well, once I won a drawing at the public library for the adult summer reading program. The nice librarian called and told me I had won and could come pick up my prize. I was ecstatic with joy. So much so that he felt the need to assure me that it was just a tiny little prize and not to expect anything big. He didn’t want me to be disappointed. It didn’t matter. I had WON something.)

But as I try to protect my dear daughter from the inevitable disappointment of finding that eating this particular cereal did not by default mean we’d be standing outside Cinderella’s castle next summer, I remember my prize from last week.

We made our annual family trek to the pumpkin patch. When I paid to get in, the nice lady at the farm handed me a jar of homemade pumpkin butter.

She said the first 25 families that visited the farm that day were receiving a gift.

We had won!

In fact, she didn’t have any more jars there on the shelf behind her, so I’m pretty sure we were number 25, making this all the more reason to celebrate.

And all I had to do was show up.

Oh, we love to complicate things don’t we?

I think how difficult I can make this sometimes, asking what I need to do to win God’s affection or attention and earn His favor.

I can know it in my head. It’s grace. It’s mercy. He doesn’t need me to perform elaborate rituals or scream and shout for the prize of His divine attention.

Still I forget.

I think surely I must have let Him down and disappointed Him or missed a step and messed things up along the way. Maybe He’d have blessed me, but I did something wrong and now He can’t. Or I made a wrong decision somewhere and stumbled out of His perfect plan for me.

It makes it seem so fickle. Like I’m playing some guessing game and the prize for guessing correctly is His favor and affection. But one wrong answer and I’m out.

Yet, James 4:8a says:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Draw near.

I read about the resurrection appearance of Jesus, how He appeared first to Mary Magdaelene and then to the other women who had visited the tomb that morning.

In her devotional, Revealing Jesus, Darlene Zschech asks:

Why did Jesus appear first to two women? The answer is so simple. They were the ones who showed up first.

We won’t always get it right. Sometimes just ‘showing up’ begins with that first humble act of repentance, of praying in earnest that the Holy Spirit do His work, search our hearts, purify and refine.

But showing up also means just coming as we are. Not trying to figure out some complicated formula in order to gain admittance to see Jesus. We don’t have to delay coming to Him because we’re not ready yet or worry that He’ll send us back because we’re so unworthy.

We come.

We just. Come.

And we ask: Lord, I long for Your presence and I’m drawing near to You today. I’m resting here at Your feet and I’m desperate to spend time with You. Forgive me, cleanse me. Please draw near to me. ~Amen~

25 Bible Verses on Rest

October 8, 20142 Comments

Genesis 2:2-3 ESV
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Exodus 20:8-10 NIV
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
Exodus 23:12 ESV
“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
Exodus 33:14 ESV
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ESV
“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Psalm 4:8 ESV
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Photo by mansum007; 123rf.com

He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
Psalm 62:1-2 ESV
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:5 NIV
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Psalm 116:7 NIV
Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
Psalm 127:2 ESV
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 131:2 NIV
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Proverbs 19:23 NIV
The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 30:15 NIV
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation
in quietness and trust is your strength
but you would have none of it.
Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.
Jeremiah 6:16 ESV
Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Ezekiel 20:12 ESV
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 12:12 ESV
Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27 ESV
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 6:31 ESV
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ
Hebrews 4:9-11 ESV
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
1 John 3:19-20 NIV
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

The Great Human Struggle Right There in the Middle of the Kitchen

September 22, 20142 Comments

He freezes in the kitchen with one hand hanging mid-air.

Picture courtesy of Steve Janacek, PicJumbo

He was headed into “The Forbidden Territory”—AKA the laundry room—just as fast as he could crawl when he heard me say, “No.”

And this tiny baby boy engaged in the great human struggle right there in the middle of my kitchen floor.

Do I do what I want to do? Even if I know it’s wrong? Even if mom says, ‘no?’

Or do I obey and turn to enjoy something else, something approved and acceptable?

He tilts his head up so he can see me, still sticking his hand right out into the air, paralyzed as he decides where to slap that hand down on the linoleum floor. Place the hand here to move forward to the “No Zone of the laundry room.” Place the hand there to turn and obey.

His muscles actually twitch under the strain of the decision. He grunts and growls. He looks at me with the brightest blue eyes all filled to the brim with tears.

Because he wants what he wants.

And yet, still crying, still upset, still disappointed, slowly he lowers that hand down and shifts his body.

He turns.

He crawls full speed ahead to my legs and throws himself at me.

Sometimes obedience is hard. So I reward him with cheers and kisses on his cheeks and an elaborate hug.

He’s not even old enough for me to lay it all out for him all psychological and explanatory. How sometimes Mom says ‘no’ because she loves you and she doesn’t want you to end up in the laundry room with a mouthful of cat poop because you found the litter box.

How sometimes the things we think we want the very most are the very worst for us.

So, it’s my Mom-job to tell him “no,” not to be mean or arbitrary, but for protection and because I have something better in mind than cat litter (promise!).

Does God give whisper this to us also?

Dearest One, I love you. I know that your heart is hurting because I’ve said, “no,” but please trust me and trust my heart for you. I’m not out to harm you or withhold blessings or good things from you. I’m here to protect you. Wait for the moment when I say, “Yes” and it’s perfect. It’s worth waiting for. Love, Abba

The Psalmist said it:

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 ESV

He is our light. He is our protection. And He doesn’t withhold good things for us.

But we have to let Him define what is ‘good.’

Paul pursued what seemed like a noble Gospel-sharing goal—to preach in Asia–and yet, the Holy Spirit stopped him with a clear, ‘no.’

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. (Acts 16:6-7 NIV).

It’s a ‘no’ that doesn’t seem to make a bit of sense. Surely Paul’s itinerary seemed ‘good.’

Yet, even when it seems hopeless and crazy, utterly insane, or like all the doors are closed and everything is over and you should just give up already and go home, if God tells you ‘no’ and asks you to wait….then wait. If He asks you to turn, then turn.

Linda Evans Shepherd in The Stress Cure writes:

Living in God’s will means always saying yes to God (p. 138).

You want me to stop? Yes, Lord.
You want me to wait? Yes, Lord.
You want me to change direction? Yes, Lord.

That’s what He did for Paul. He redirected Paul’s steps to Macedonia and to a Gospel mission to Europe:

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10).

Maybe I would have pushed and shoved right out of God’s presence and His will and right on into Asia.

Yet, Paul turned. He accepted the ‘no’ and said ‘yes’ to God’s mission and agenda instead of his own seemingly noble one.

Do I want what I want? Even if I know it’s wrong? Even if God says no?

Or do I want to be where God is, satisfied and content in His presence and trusting in His love?

May we always choose the “yes” of His presence.

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Learn When to Say, ‘Yes?’

Heather C. King – Room to Breathe

"He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul" Psalm 62:1-2 (MSG).

Category: ‘Presence’

Learning to Linger

25 Ways to Create Rest

25 Ways to Create Rest

If I sit down for 15 minutes, will there be a cosmic meltdown?

I’ll be back the following week and I’ll announce the winners of the big giveaway, so keep entering!!

How peeling potatoes makes me feel like a domestic diva

7 Ways to have a quiet time when you don’t have quiet or time

Morning Prayers to Whisper in Between the Snooze Button (AKA Kids)

I Know a Good Question When I See One

Eat Cereal and Go to Disney?

25 Bible Verses on Rest

The Great Human Struggle Right There in the Middle of the Kitchen

My devotional for today:

25 Ways to Create Rest

My devotional for today:

I’ll be back the following week and I’ll announce the winners of the big giveaway, so keep entering!!

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today: